1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of the present invention relate to a driving apparatus of a plasma display panel (PDP), and more particularly, to an energy recovery circuit included in a driving apparatus, which can achieve operational stability and reliability of a switching device while recovering energy.
2. Description of the Related Art
A plasma display panel (PDP) is a flat display device having a wide screen, which displays a desired image by applying a discharge voltage between two substrates each having a plurality of electrodes, wherein discharge gas is trapped between the two substrates and used to generate ultraviolet rays which excite a phosphor pattern.
A driving apparatus of a PDP includes a plurality of power sources, a plurality of switching devices, and a plurality of drive integrated circuits (ICs) which control switching operations of the switching devices, in order to apply drive signals to each of a plurality of electrodes disposed in the PDP. The driving apparatus of the PDP outputs the drive signals by using the switching operations of the plurality of switching devices. The driving apparatus of the PDP can be classified into a pulse application unit and an energy recovery unit. The pulse application unit applies a pulse to the PDP, and the energy recovery unit recovers and restores energy (wall charge) from a discharge cell inside the PDP wherein the discharge is performed by the pulse applied by the pulse application unit, in order to reduce unnecessary consumption of power.
The energy recovery unit includes a switching device, an inductive device for resonance, a capacitive device storing recovered energy (wall charge), etc. Here, the switching device is driven by a switching control signal. The switching control signal is outputted in pulse form from an integrated device, generally called a drive IC. The switching control signal in pulse form passes through a capacitor to remove a DC element thereof, and because of this, the waveform of the switching control signal is distorted. Due to the distorted switching control signal, the switching device generates excessive heat, and may burn out. These problems specifically occur in the switching device when it is used while the energy recovery unit recovers energy.